When the Peaky Blinders came to film in the north-east earlier this year, most of the attention was focused on the series’ recognisable stars and not on the cars used on set.
But the story behind the vehicles and how they made it to Portsoy that day is worthy of a quality television episode itself.
The man responsible for getting them in front of the cameras was Aberdeenshire hydraulics engineer Cameron Anderson, who has been collecting and restoring vintage cars for the last three years.
He and his wife Emily, who has a number of American muscle cars from the sixties and seventies, have together amassed 25 vehicles over that period of time.
Mr Anderson said: “I’ve had the passion for vintage vehicles for quite a long time.
“I passed my driving test in a 1961 Series 2 Land Rover, and I’ve had quite a few vehicles in my time.
“I started collecting various makes and models in 2018, so it’s been on the go for a wee while now.”
The oldest in Mr Anderson’s collection, a 1925 Hummer, is the same age as John Logie Baird’s original television itself, and the pair he loaned out to the producers of Peaky Blinders are only a few years younger.
Perhaps the most remarkable of the two is a 1932 Chrysler 6, which was shipped over to Kenya not long after its manufacture and spent 30 years in equatorial Africa.
In 1964, it returned to the UK, and has been kept in such good condition that none of its original features have had to be replaced.
Despite being almost 90-years-old, it passed all of its checks after Mr Anderson took ownership and is safe to drive on UK roads.
Every trick in the Buick
However, the other car would prove more of a challenge.
The show’s producers were particularly keen on a classic 1929 Hupmobile that Mr Anderson had ordered from the US.
However, the ferry bringing it across the Atlantic was delayed by storms, and it gradually became clear that there was no way it could arrive in time for the start of filming in February.
That meant they had to turn to a wildly ambitious Plan B: restoring a completely seized-up 1928 Buick Master 6 to make it not only roadworthy, but attractive enough to appear on the small screen.
A job that would usually take at least half a year would need to be completed in three weeks.
Mr Anderson, who lives near King Edward, said: “It’s everything from upholstery and electrics to engineering.
“We start with the engine and work our way back, going through all the electrics, brakes, gearboxes, take all that apart and basically go right through the whole car until it’s finished.
“We just go through the whole car mechanically, make sure it’s safe, then the final part is the paintwork if it needs it.”
Owners of Portsoy hotel on what it was like catering for the crew of Peaky Blinders
The effort took around 15 people working whenever they were available, including “old school mechanic” Jim Leslie, Mr Anderson’s apprentice Denver Cheyne and upholsterer Gordon Maitland.
All seemed to be going to plan until barely 24 hours before cameras started rolling, when a new autopulse fuel pump that had been ordered in refused to work.
Working furiously, the engineers were forced to combine parts from the original with the new one, and the motor finally sprang to life on a Sunday night. The filming began on Monday morning, and Mr Anderson proudly drove it onto set himself.
The stars of Peaky Blinders were in Portsoy in February to film the sixth and final season of the show, with French-language signs being installed around the harbour area.
Mr Anderson’s friend and business partner Billy Milne supplied the production with old boats after being approached by the BBC.
Cillian Murphy, who plays Birmingham gang leader Tommy Shelby in the show, was also spotted enjoying some of the local award-winning ice cream.
